Category: Public Finance

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Exam Questions Harvard Public Finance

Harvard. Public finance. Description, enrollment and final exams. Bullock, 1912-1913

"The Free American Citizen." Republic Tariff Taxes Make his "Freedom" a Mockery.

 

The two half-courses in public finance were merged into a two semester sequence at Harvard in 1912-13. Still at the helm, Charles Jesse Bullock.

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Public Finance pre-1912/13

Links to earlier course material for Public Finance from Harvard, 1883-84 through 1911-12.

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ECONOMICS 5
Course Description
1912-13

[Economics] 5 (formerly 7a and 7b). Public Finance, including the Theory and Methods of Taxation. Mon., Wed., Fri., at 9. Professor Bullock.

This course covers the entire field of public finance, but emphasizes the subject of taxation. After a brief survey of the history of finance, attention is given to public expenditures, commercial revenues, administrative revenues, and taxation, with consideration both of theory and of the practice of various countries. Public credit is then studied, and financial legislation and administration are briefly treated.

Systematic reading is prescribed, and most of the exercises are conducted by the method of informal discussion. Candidates for distinction will be given an opportunity to write theses.

Graduate students are advised to elect Economics 31.

Source: Harvard University. Division of History, Government, and Economics, Courses of Instruction, 1912–13, p. 61.

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ECONOMICS 5
Course Enrollment
1912-13

Economics 5. Professor Bullock. Public Finance, including the Theory and Methods of Taxation.

Total 25: 6 Seniors, 14 Juniors, 4 Sophomores, 1 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Reports of the President and the Treasurer of Harvard College, 1912-13, p. 57.

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ECONOMICS 5
Mid-year Examination
1912-13

  1. In two countries the total public expenditure is, respectively, $18 and $16 per capita. In the former the local expenditure is one-third of the total, in the latter it is one half. The composition of the revenues, national and local, is assumed to be practically the same in the two countries. What conclusions do these data justify concerning the comparative pressure exerted by public expenditures in the two countries, and what further data would be necessary for a complete estimate of such pressure?
  2. What methods can you suggest for reducing public expenditures in any or all of their branches?
  3. Compare the views of Smith, Rau, and Bastable concerning revenue from domains.
  4. Discuss the proposition that income is the normal source of taxation.
  5. Discuss fully the proportion [sic] that public expenditure is unproductive.
  6. Discuss fully the incidence of customs duties.
  7. Discuss fully the incidence of a general tax on interest.
  8. To what extent is the weight of national or local taxation in the United States likely to be reduced by revenue from other sources.

Source: Harvard University. Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 9, bound volume Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1912-13.

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ECONOMICS 5
Year-end Examination
1912-13

  1. Explain and discuss critically the methods employed in the taxation of land in Germany, France, Great Britain, Australia, and the United States.
  2. Compare the general property tax with the general income tax, considering both the theory and the practical operation of these taxes.
  3. Compare the French, Prussian, and British systems of direct taxation.
  4. Compare the British system of indirect taxation with those of France and the United States.
  5. Discuss the taxation of mortgages in the United States.
  6. What changes in the taxation of personal property have recently occurred in the United States?
  7. Compare the British, Prussian, and Italian income taxes.
  8. Outline what you consider a satisfactory theory of the just apportionment of public charges.

Source: Harvard University Examinations. Papers set for final examinations in history, history of science, government, economics, philosophy, social ethics, education, fine arts, music in Harvard College (June 1913), p. 44.

Image Source: J. Norman Lynd’s “The Free American Citizen” on the cover of Puck, v. 72, no. 1856 (1912 September 25). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.

Illustration shows an American citizen sitting at a table, eating a meal; every item on the table and almost every item in the dining room and kitchen in the background, has a tag on it indicating at what percent that item has been taxed, for instance, the tag on the salt and pepper shakers states “Tax 33 per cent”, the tag on a potato or the fork he is using to eat it with states “Tax 40 per cent”, the tag on the table cloth states “Tax 45 per cent”, the tag on a teapot on the stove in the kitchen states “Tax 45 per cent”, and an insert shows a tombstone with a tag that states “Tax 50 per cent”.

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Earlier public finance exams
at Harvard

1883-84. Political Economy 7. Comparison of the financial systems of France, England, Germany, and the U.S. Taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1884-85. Political Economy 7. Comparison of the Financial Systems of France, England, Germany, and the U.S. [Omitted 1884-85].

1884-85. Political Economy 8. History of financial legislation in the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1885-86. Political Economy 8. Financial history of the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1886-87. Political Economy 7. Public finance and banking taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1886-87. Political Economy 8. Financial history of the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar [Exams not (yet) found]

1887-88. Political Economy 7. Taxation, public debts, and banking taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1887-88. Political Economy 8. History of financial legislation in the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1888-89. Political Economy 7. Taxation, public debts, and banking taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1888-89. Political Economy 8. History of financial legislation in the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1889-90. Political Economy 7. Public Finance and Banking. Omitted.

1889-90. Political Economy 8. History of financial legislation in the U.S. taught by Adolph Caspar Miller

1890-91. Political Economy 7. Public finance and taxation taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1890-91. Political Economy 8. History of financial legislation in the U.S. taught by William Morse Cole.

1891-92. Political Economy 71. Theory and methods of taxation  taught by Charles F. Dunbar [Mid-year examination not found]

1891-92. Political Economy 8. History of fnancial legislation in the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1892-93. Economics 71. Theory and methods of txation taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1892-93. Economics 72. Financial administration and public Debts taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1893-94. Economics 8. History of financial legislation of the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1894-95. Economics 7. Theory and methods of taxation (first semester) and financial administration and public debts (second semester) taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1895-96. Economics 7. Financial administration and public Debts taught by John Cummings.

1895-96. Economics 8. History of financial legislation of the U.S. taught by J. A. Hill.

1896-97. Economics 16. Topics in the financial legislation of the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1897-98. Economics 71. Theory and Methods of Taxation taught by Frank William Taussig, Readings, Exams.

1898-99. Economics 16. Topics in the financial legislation of the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1899-1900. Economics 7a. Financial administration and public Debts taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1899-1900. Economics 7b. Theory and methods of taxation taught by Frank William Taussig.

1900-01. Economics 7a and 7b. Not offered.

1901-02. Economics 7a and 7b. Financial administration; taxation [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1902-03. Economics 7b. Theory and methods of taxation with reference to local taxation [undergraduate] taught by Edward Dana Durand, Readings, Exam and Durand biography.

1902-03. Economics 16. Financial history of the United States taught by Prof Henry Brayton Gardner of Brown University.

1903-04. Economics 7b. Theory and methods of taxation taught by Frank William Taussig.

1903-04. Economics 16.  Financial history of the United States taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1904-05. Economics 7a. Introduction to public finance [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1904-05. Economics 7b. Theory and methods of taxation [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1904-05. Economics 16. Financial history of the United States taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1905-06 Economics 7.  Public finance [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1905-06 Economics 16. Public finance [advanced] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1906-07 Economics 16. Public finance and taxation taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1907-08 Economics 16. Public finance and taxation taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1908-09 Economics 7. Public finance [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1908-09 Economics 16. Public finance [advanced course] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1909-10 Economics 7. Public finance and taxation taught by Charles Phillips Huse [biographical information included]

1909-10 Economics 16. American taxation [advanced course] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock and Charles Phillips Huse.

1910-11 Economics 7 2hf. Public finance considered with special reference to the theory and methods of taxation. taught by Charles Phillips Huse, assisted by Wilfred] Eldred and Roscoe Russell Hess.

1910-11 Economics 16 Public finance (advanced course) taught by Charles Jesse Bullock.

1910-11 Economics 17 2hf.  Municipal finance taught by Charles Phillips Huse.

1911-12 Economics 7a 1hf. Introduction to Public Finance taught by Charles Jesse Bullock.

1911-12 Economics 7b 2hf. The Theory and Methods of Taxation taught by Charles Jesse Bullock.

1911-12 Economics 16. Public finance (advanced course) taught by Charles Jesse Bullock.

 

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Public Finance

Harvard. Advanced Public Finance. Description, enrollment and final examination. Bullock, 1911-1912

As has been noted in other posts for the 1911-12 academic year at Harvard, the archival collection of final exams is incomplete with respect to the first semester of two semester courses such as Economics 16 “Public Finance (advanced course)” taught by Charles J. Bullock. The 1910-11 year post (linked below) gives the mid-year and year-end final exams for the course. Other than warning to “Mind the gap”, there is little to be done other that to hope that a copy of the mid-year exam pops up in some other archival location.

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Earlier Advanced Public Finance

Links to earlier course material for advanced course in public finance from Harvard, 1905-06 through 1910-11.

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Course Description
1911-12

[Economics] *16. Public Finance (advanced course). Mon., Wed., (and at the pleasure of the instructor) Fri., at 10. Professor Bullock.

The course is deroted to the examination of the financial institutions of the principal modern countries, in the light of both theory and history. One or more reports calling for independent investigation will ordinarily be required. Special emphasis will be placed upon questions of American finance. Ability to read French or German is presupposed. Undergraduates are admitted only by consent of the instructor.

Source: Division of History, Government, and Economics: 1911-12 (1st ed.). Official Register of Harvard University, Vol. VIII, No. 23 (June 15, 1911), p. 66.

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Course Enrollment
1911-12

Economics 16. Professor Bullock. — Public Finance (advanced course).

Total 13: 11 Graduates, 1 Senior, 1 Junior.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1911-1912, p. 64.

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ECONOMICS 16
Year-end Final Examination
1911-12

  1. Discuss the present status of the benefit theory of taxation.
  2. Discuss the present status of the theory of progressive taxation.
  3. Discuss the various reasons advanced to explain the failure of the general property tax in the United States. What light does Swiss experience throw on this problem?
  4. Discuss the principal methods proposed for remedying the defects of the general property tax in the United States.
  5. Discuss the incidence of taxes on wages and interest, also of taxes on regulated public service corporations.
  6. Discuss the present status of excise taxation in France, Great Britain, and the United States.
  7. Compare the views of Adam Smith and Bastable concerning the economic effects of public debts.
  8. Compare the history of the British debt with that of the French debt during the nineteenth century.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University — Examination papers, 1873-1915. Box 6. Bound volume, Examination Papers, 1912. Harvard University Examinations. Papers Set For Examinations in History, History of Science, Government, Economics […], p. 59.

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Earlier Advanced Public Finance Courses

1905-06. Public Finance (advanced course).
1908-09. Public Finance (advanced course).
1910-11. Public Finance (advanced course).

Image Source: Charles Jesse Bullock in the Harvard Class Album 1915. Colorized by Economics in the Rear-view Mirror.

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Public Finance

Harvard. Theory and Methods of Taxation. Description, Enrollment, Final Exam. Bullock, 1911-1912

"...tis impossible to be sure of any thing but Death and Taxes..."

Comparative national taxation systems gave this Harvard public finance course dedicated to the nuts and bolts of taxation an international flair.

Fun fact: While Benjamin Franklin did indeed write in a 1789 letter that “Our new Constitution is now established, everything seems to promise it will be durable; but, in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.” The certainty of death and taxes was a notion that had been in the air (indeed in print) earlier, e.g. in Christopher Bullock’s farce, The Cobler of Preston.

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Earlier Harvard courses
on Public Finance and Taxation

Links to earlier course material for Public Finance and Taxation 1883/4 through 1910/11.

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Course Description
1911-12

[Economics] 7b 2hf. The Theory and Methods of Taxation. Half-course (second half-year). Mon., Wed., Fri., at 9. Professor Bullock.

In this course the theory of taxation is first examined; then the tax systems of the United States and leading countries of Europe are studied. Finally proposals for reforming the methods employed in the United States are considered historically and critically.

The course will be conducted in the same manner as Economics 7a, and admission is subject to the same conditions. Students who do not elect this course at the beginning of the year will be admitted in February only with the consent of the instructor.

Source: Division of History, Government, and Economics: 1911-12 (1st ed.). Official Register of Harvard University, Vol. VIII, No. 23 (June 15, 1911), pp.63-64.

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Course Enrollment
1911-12

Economics 7b 2hf. Professor Bullock. — The Theory and Methods of Taxation.

Total 37: 2 Graduates, 10 Seniors, 16 Juniors, 9 Sophomores.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1911-1912, p. 64.

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ECONOMICS 7b
Year-end Examination
1911-12

  1. Discuss fully the doctrine that income is the normal source of taxation.
  2. Discuss the expediency of using taxation as a means of regulating the distribution of wealth.
  3. How should the burden of taxation be distributed?
  4. Discuss the incidence of the tax on mortgages in the American states.
  5. State and explain four criticisms urged by Seligman against the single tax. State and explain the replies Mr. Shearman has made to these criticisms.
  6. Discuss the taxation of personal property in the United States and in Switzerland.
  7. Compare the British and the Prussian income taxes.
  8. Compare the custom taxes of France, Great Britain, and Germany.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University — Examination papers, 1873-1915. Box 6. Bound volume, Examination Papers, 1912. Harvard University Examinations. Papers Set For Examinations in History, History of Science, Government, Economics […], pp. 53-54.

Image Source:  Origin of the observation of the the inevitability of death and taxes: “You lye, you are not sure; for I say, Woman, ’tis impossible to be sure of any thing but Death and Taxes — therefore hold your Tongue, or you shall both be soundly whipt—Sure I know my Office⁠⁠—Give me some Sack⁠—Lord, how I sweat!” from The Cobbler of Preston by Christopher Bullock, p. 21.

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Public Finance

Harvard. Introduction to Public Finance. Description, Enrollment, Final Exam. Bullock, 1911-1912

 

For those trained to think of sovereign kings subject to a government budget constraint that boils down to the use of some combination of taxing the peasants, borrowing from the grand houses of international banking, debasing the currency, and rents paid for the use of royal land to finance any particular level of government spending, it seems odd to divide a two semester sequence into a semester devoted to taxation and another semester for all the other items in that government budget constraint. But that was the way the field was divided at Harvard under Charles Jesse Bullock in the first part of the 20th century. 

This post is for Economics 7a, the non-taxation parts of public finance.

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Public Finance pre-1911/12

Links to earlier course material for Public Finance from Harvard, 1883-84 through 1910-11.

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Course Description
1911-12

[Economics] 7a 1hf. Introduction to Public Finance. Half-course (first half-year). Mon., Wed., Fri., at 9. Professor Bullock.

This course covers the general field of public finance exclusive of taxation. After a brief survey of the history of public finance, the following subjects are studied: public expenditures, public revenues other than taxes, public debts, financial administration, and financial legislation. Attention is given both to the theory and to the practice of various countries.

A systematic course of readings is prescribed, and most of the exercises are conducted by the method of informal discussion. Candidates for honors will be given an opportunity to write theses. The course is open only to students who have passed in Economics 1. Graduate students are advised to take Economics 16. Course 7a is not open to students who in the year 1910-11 elected Economics 7, but such students may be admitted to Economics 1b with the consent of the instructor.

Source: Division of History, Government, and Economics: 1911-12 (1st ed.). Official Register of Harvard University, Vol. VIII, No. 23 (June 15, 1911), p. 63.

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Course Enrollment
1911-12

Economics 7a 1hf. Professor Bullock. — Introduction to Public Finance.

Total 24: 3 Graduates, 5 Seniors, 11 Juniors, 4 Sophomores, 1 Others

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1911-1912, p. 64.

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ECONOMICS 7a
Mid-year Final Exam
1911-12

Omit any question except the last.

  1. Discuss fully the proposition that increasing public expenditures are a sign of advancing civilization.
  2. Compare the policy of our federal government with regard to revenue from public domains with the policy of Prussia.
  3. To what extent in the United States and elsewhere has the weight of taxation been reduced by revenue from public industries?
  4. What light does the history of the United States Post Office throw upon the character and tendencies of public management of industries? Does the postal service of other countries reveal different or similiar tendencies?
  5. What policy would you advocate in fixing the prices charged by public industries? If your policy would not be the same under all circumstances, state what it would be under each of the different sets of circumstances that may be assumed to exist.
  6. Present what seems to you to be a satisfactory theory of the economic effects of public debts; then state and criticize four other theories which you have studied.
  7. “The truth is that all newly produced goods are at the outset disposable capital. All are created for the same purpose, the immediate or more remote satisfaction of needs; they are already destined to be capital, and must, therefore, be considered as capital. To take away any part of them is as truly a destruction of capital, as the destruction of capital previously accummulated would be.”
    What does this passage suggest to you? Criticise it.
  8. Of the writers upon public finance whose works you have read, which four impress you as the most important? State what each of these four writers contributed to the science, and explain why he deserves the rank you assign him.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University — Examination papers, 1873-1915. Box 6. Bound volume, Examination Papers, 1912. Harvard University Examinations. Papers Set For Examinations in History, History of Science, Government, Economics […], pp. 52-53.

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Earlier public finance exams
at Harvard

1883-84. Political Economy 7. Comparison of the financial systems of France, England, Germany, and the U.S. Taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1884-85. Political Economy 7. Comparison of the Financial Systems of France, England, Germany, and the U.S. [Omitted 1884-85].

1884-85. Political Economy 8. History of financial legislation in the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1885-86. Political Economy 8. Financial history of the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1886-87. Political Economy 7. Public finance and banking taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1886-87. Political Economy 8. Financial history of the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar [Exams not (yet) found]

1887-88. Political Economy 7. Taxation, public debts, and banking taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1887-88. Political Economy 8. History of financial legislation in the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1888-89. Political Economy 7. Taxation, public debts, and banking taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1888-89. Political Economy 8. History of financial legislation in the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1889-90. Political Economy 7. Public Finance and Banking. Omitted.

1889-90. Political Economy 8. History of financial legislation in the U.S. taught by Adolph Caspar Miller

1890-91. Political Economy 7. Public finance and taxation taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1890-91. Political Economy 8. History of financial legislation in the U.S. taught by William Morse Cole.

1891-92. Political Economy 71. Theory and methods of taxation  taught by Charles F. Dunbar [Mid-year examination not found]

1891-92. Political Economy 8. History of fnancial legislation in the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1892-93. Economics 71. Theory and methods of txation taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1892-93. Economics 72. Financial administration and public Debts taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1893-94. Economics 8. History of financial legislation of the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1894-95. Economics 7. Theory and methods of taxation (first semester) and financial administration and public debts (second semester) taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1895-96. Economics 7. Financial administration and public Debts taught by John Cummings.

1895-96. Economics 8. History of financial legislation of the U.S. taught by J. A. Hill.

1896-97. Economics 16. Topics in the financial legislation of the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1897-98. Economics 71. Theory and Methods of Taxation taught by Frank William Taussig, Readings, Exams.

1898-99. Economics 16. Topics in the financial legislation of the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1899-1900. Economics 7a. Financial administration and public Debts taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1899-1900. Economics 7b. Theory and methods of taxation taught by Frank William Taussig.

1900-01. Economics 7a and 7b. Not offered.

1901-02. Economics 7a and 7b. Financial administration; taxation [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1902-03. Economics 7b. Theory and methods of taxation with reference to local taxation [undergraduate] taught by Edward Dana Durand, Readings, Exam and Durand biography.

1902-03. Economics 16. Financial history of the United States taught by Prof Henry Brayton Gardner of Brown University.

1903-04. Economics 7b. Theory and methods of taxation taught by Frank William Taussig.

1903-04. Economics 16.  Financial history of the United States taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1904-05. Economics 7a. Introduction to public finance [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1904-05. Economics 7b. Theory and methods of taxation [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1904-05. Economics 16. Financial history of the United States taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1905-06 Economics 7.  Public finance [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1905-06 Economics 16. Public finance [advanced] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1906-07 Economics 16. Public finance and taxation taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1907-08 Economics 16. Public finance and taxation taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1908-09 Economics 7. Public finance [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1908-09 Economics 16. Public finance [advanced course] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1909-10 Economics 7. Public finance and taxation taught by Charles Phillips Huse [biographical information included]

1909-10 Economics 16. American taxation [advanced course] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock and Charles Phillips Huse.

1910-11 Economics 7 2hf. Public finance considered with special reference to the theory and methods of taxation. taught by Charles Phillips Huse, assisted by Wilfred] Eldred and Roscoe Russell Hess.

1910-11 Economics 16 Public finance (advanced course) taught by Charles Jesse Bullock.

1910-11 Economics 17 2hf.  Municipal finance taught by Charles Phillips Huse

Image Source: The original Seal of the Department of the Treasury, designed in 1778. The Latin inscription is an abbreviation for the phrase Thesauri Americae Septentrionalis Sigillum, which means “The Seal of the Treasury of North America.” 

 

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Public Finance

Harvard. Municipal Finance. Course description, enrollments, final exam. Huse, 1910-1911

Meet Charles Phillips Huse

1883. Born March 3 in Worcester, MA. Attended Springfield High School. Springfield, MA.

1904. A.B. Harvard.

1905. A.M. Harvard.

1907. Ph.D. Harvard. Thesis: The Financial History of Boston from 1822 to 1859.

1908-09. Instructor in Economics, Dartmouth College.

1909-11. Instructor in Economics at Harvard.

1911-14. Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Missouri.

1914-20. Assistant Professor of Economics, Boston University.

1920-53. Professor of Economics, Boston University.

1958. Died July 13 in Belmont, MA.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Professor Huse economizes on our nerves as he never did on ice cream or time. His peculiar humor relieves a mental struggle with Gresham’s Law, and his unchanging method nets a return of old quiz questions yearly rejuvenated on each anniversary of their first propounding. This holds true in the long run. That will be all for this time.

Source: Boston University Yearbook, The Hub 1924, p. 32.

One of the greatest and most worth while experiences in Dr. Huse’s life came in 1910 when he went to Washington to aid the National Monetary Commission. His task was to read the volumes written by the Commission and, as each volume was published, to prepare press statements for the newspapers. Partly as a result of the work of this Commission, the Federal Reserve Act was passed. While he was in Washington he had the opportunity of seeing the public buildings and of taking trips into the surrounding country to places of interest.

Source: Boston University Yearbook, The Hub 1927, p. 18.

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Course Enrollment
1910-11

Economics 17 2hf. Dr. Huse. — Municipal Finance.

Total 21: 3 Graduates, 11 Seniors, 5 Juniors, 1 Sophomore, 1 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1910-1911, p. 50.

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Course Announcement and Description
1910-11

[Economics] 17 2hf.  Municipal Finance. Half-course (second half-year). Mon., Wed., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Fri., at 10. Dr. Huse.

In this course the expenditures, revenues, and debts of American municipalities will be considered. A comparative study of the financial policies of various cities will be made and consideration given to the views of writers on public finance for the purpose of ascertaining, as far as possible, the principles which should govern municipal administration. Every member of the course will be expected to make a study, under the guidance of the instructor, of the finances of his own city, and will give to the class the results of his work.

This course is open only to those students who have had Economics 7 or 16.

Source: History and Political Science, Comprising the Departments of History and Government, and Economics, 1910-11. Published in the Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. VII No. 23 (June 21, 1910), p. 60.

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ECONOMICS 17
Year-End Examination, 1910-11

Questions 3 and 4 each count one-third. 
  1. Would the acquirement of the right to tax the property of Harvard University be for the best interests of Cambridge?
  2. What are the provisions limiting the tax rate and the amount of indebtedness in Massachusetts cities and towns? What has been their effect? What can be said for and against their retention?
  3. Write upon two of the following topics: —
    1. The effect of Boston’s incorporation upon its finances.
    2. The state’s control of Boston’s finances.
    3. The finances of the Metropolitan Water District.
    4. The Tweed ring.
    5. The reasons for the proposed union of Tonawanda and North Tonawanda, New York.
  4. The following figures relating to the finances of Gloucester, Mass. are taken from the 1907 report on the Statistics of Municipal Finances (Mass.).

RECEIPTS
Revenue

$515,018.71
General

$388,286.05
(Taxes, property and poll

333,368.41)
Commercial

126,732.66
(Water

90,176.38)
Non-Revenue

512,755.54
Offsets to outlays

3,197.42
Municipal indebtedness

444,350.39
Loans, general purposes

$71,000.00
Loans, public service enterprises

40,000.00
Temporary loans, including tax loans

320,000.00
Premiums

1,002.50
Unpaid warrants or orders, current year

12,347.89
Agency and Trust

65,207.73

Total receipts

$1,027,774.25

Balance on hand,
beginning of year

44,081.43

Grand Total

$1,071,855.68

PAYMENTS
Maintenance

$435,983.66
Departmental

$394,447.38
Public service enterprises

40,787.48
(Water

40,767.48)
Cemeteries

748.80
Interest

81,915.13
Loans, general purposes

40,705.96
Loans, public service enterprises

41,209.17
Outlays

61,829.86
Departmental

50,805.79
Public service enterprises (water)

11,024.07
Municipal indebtedness

413,997.72
From revenue

110,428.89
Temporary loans, including tax loans

295,000.00
Warrants or orders, previous years

8,568.83
Agency and Trust

64,437.88

Total payments

$1,058,164.25

Balance on hand,
end of year

13,691.43

Grand Total

$1,071,855.68
Outstanding indebtedness classified by character of obligation,
Loans for general purposes

$642,225.00
Loans for public service enterprises

1,137,000.00
Temporary tax loans

200,000.00
Warrants or orders

12,347.89

$1,991,572.89

Valuation $22,083,852, Population 26,011.

Make a critical study of the finances of Gloucester as revealed by these figures.

Source: Papers set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, …, Landscape Architecture, Music in Harvard College. June 1911, pp. 52-54. In Harvard University Archives, Examination papers, 1873-1915 (HUC 7000.25). Box 9. Examination Papers, 1910-11.

Image Source: Boston University yearbook, 1927.

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Public Finance

Harvard. Public Finance. Course description, enrollment, semester exams. Bullock, 1910-1911

It is not only inquisitorial; but public morality forbids that the taxpayer should be forced to do any more hard swearing than he already does.

The field of public finance, especially with regard to issues of taxation, was covered at Harvard in the early decades of the 20th century by Professor Charles Jesse Bullock. 

From 1906: Selected Readings in Public Finance edited by Charles Jesse Bullock (Boston: Inn & Company).

From 1910: Short bibliography on public finance “for serious minded students” by Bullock

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Earlier versions of the course
by year and instructor

1906-07

https://www.irwincollier.com/harvard-public-finance-and-taxation-enrollments-and-final-exams-bullock-1906-1907/

1907-08

https://www.irwincollier.com/harvard-public-finance-and-taxation-exams-bullock-1907-1908/

1908-09

https://www.irwincollier.com/harvard-examinations-in-public-finance-especially-taxation-bullock-1908-1909/

1909-10 (half-course, American Taxation)

https://www.irwincollier.com/harvard-american-taxation-course-description-enrollment-and-final-exam-bullock-and-huse-1909-1910/

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Course Announcement and Description
1910-11

[Economics] 16 Public Finance (advanced course). Mon., Wed., Fri., at 9. Professor Bullock.

This course is designed for graduate students and for undergraduates who are especially interested in public finance. It cannot be elected by students who have taken Economics 7 [Public Finance course exclusively offered to undergraduates], except by express consent of the instructor.

The course is devoted to the examination of the financial institutions of the principal modern countries, in the light of both theory and history. One or more reports calling for independent investigation will ordinarily be required. Special emphasis will be placed upon questions of American finance.

Source: History and Political Science, Comprising the Departments of History and Government, and Economics, 1910-11. Published in the Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. VII No. 23 (June 21, 1910), pp. 60.

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Course Enrollment
1910-11

Economics 16. Professor Bullock. — Public Finance (advanced course).

Total 7: 5 Graduates, 1 Senior, 1 Junior.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1910-1911, p. 49.

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ECONOMICS 16
Mid-year Examination, 1910-11

  1. Discuss briefly the classifications of public revenues offered by Smith, Cohn, Bastable, and Seligman.
  2. Discuss the course of development of three classes of public expenditures in the nineteenth century.
  3. Analyze the effects of non-commercial expenditures, with a view to supplying the data necessary for judging of the legitimacy of such expenditures.
  4. What policy should a modern state pursue with respect to public ownership of arable land, forests, and mines?
  5. What fiscal policy would you favor for the following public industries: the post office, railroads, water works, gas works?
  6. What has been the position of commercial revenues in national and local budgets since 1850?
  7. In what departments of public service and to what extent should fees be used by a modern state?
  8. Discuss the relation of taxation to benefits.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 8, Bound vol. Examination Papers, Mid-Years, 1910-11.

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ECONOMICS 16
Year-End Examination, 1910-11

  1. Discuss double taxation in the United States.
  2. Discus the taxation of incomes in Switzerland and the United States.
  3. Discuss the past and present status of the property tax in Europe.
  4. Discuss the past and present status of the property tax in the United States.
  5. Discuss briefly the history of excise taxation in Europe during the nineteenth century.
  6. Discuss the present custom revenues of Great Britain, France, and Germany.
  7. Discuss the incidence of taxes on mortgages in the American states.
  8. Discuss state supervision of the assessment of property in the American states.

Source: Papers set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, …, Landscape Architecture, Music in Harvard College. June 1911, p. 52. In Harvard University Archives, Examination papers, 1873-1915 (HUC 7000.25). Box 9. Examination Papers, 1910-11, p. 52.

Image Source:  No Income Tax! by Charles Jay Taylor illustrator on the cover of Puck (24 January 1894).   “Print shows a scene at the ‘Income Tax Office’ with a crowd clamoring at the door where a notice states ‘One at a Time’; inside, a wealthy man is standing by a desk, on the floor at his feet, in his hat, are papers labeled ‘Personal Property Tax Sworn Off’, ‘Tax on Capital Sworn Off’, and ‘Tax on Investments’, he kisses the Bible while a government official sits at the desk with his right hand raised.” Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

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Harvard Public Finance Syllabus

Harvard. Syllabus of public lectures on taxation by Simon Newcomb. December 1879

 

The following outline of three lectures given by Simon Newcomb at Harvard in December 1879 was found in a grab-bag folder of undated course material from the department of economics. A quick plunge into the online newspaper archive newspapers.com was enough to find a public announcement of the lecture to nail down the date. 

One of the missions of Economics in the Rear-view Mirror, is to enter such obscure artifacts into the digital record. For fun I try to imagine Newcomb giving a TED talk…or a TikTok dance video.

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Simon Newcomb’s Methodenstreit with Richard Ely in 1884 has been transcribed and posted earlier.

Links to works by Simon Newcomb can be found at The History of Economic Thought website.

Newcomb’s 1909 obituary in The Times provides a snapshot of his life.

The biographical memoir written by W. W. Campbell for the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 is of course more complete.

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HARVARD UNIVERSITY.
Lectures on Taxation.

Professor SIMON NEWCOMB of Washington will give three lectures on Taxation in Sanders Theatre, on MONDAY, Dec. 8, WEDNESDAY, Dec. 10, and FRIDAY, Dec. 12, at 7 ½ P. M.

The public is invited.

AMORY T. GIBBS, Secretary

Dec. 1, 1879.

Source: Boston Evening Transcript, 2 December 1879, p. 5

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SYLLABUS OF
MR. NEWCOMB’S LECTURES ON TAXATION.

LECTURE I

The object of the course is the study of the comparative effects of different methods of raising revenue. This study is to be conducted in the same way as if the operation of natural causes alone were to be considered.

The object of taxation is the diversion of a portion of the industrial activity of the country from private to public objects.

The questions involved are not those of the absolute merits of different systems, but only their relative merits.

The expenditure of revenue is necessarily connected with the subject, because the effect of a tax depends as much upon how it is to be expended, as upon how it is to be collected.

Distribution of Indirect Taxes

Relative advantages of direct and indirect taxation.

Problem: To what extent can a tax levied on the activities of one person be transferred by him to others with whom he exchanges services?

Classification of Taxes: —

(1.) On persons.

(2.) On Production.

(3.) On accumulated wealth.

Each of these three divisions subdivided into two classes.

(α.) Taxes on totals of persons or things.

(β.) Taxes on selected persons or things.

Taxes in class (α) whether (1) poll taxes, (2) income taxes, (3) uniform property taxes, not directly transferable, but must be borne by the payers. Hence,

Class (α) includes taxes which are commonly considered direct;

Class (β) those which are indirect.

CASE I. The full amount of a tax can be added to the price of commodities when this addition causes no falling off in the demand. Digression on relations of price and demand, and the conditions on which they depend. Put,

P, the supposed price at which an untaxed commodity C, may be sold,

Q, the corresponding demand, or quantity sold at the price P in a unit of time.

ΔP, an increment of price, added on account of the tax.

ΔQ, the corresponding decrement in the quantity which can be sold,
so that at the price P + ΔP can be sold Q – ΔQ.

If ΔQ is small compared with ΔP, we may call the commodity C insensitive; if large, sensitive.

CASE II. When the demand is sensitive to a rise of price, one of two results must follow.

(α.) Production diminished till price is restored.

(β.) Price raised by only part of the tax, and the latter divided between producer and consumer. The result which must follow depends upon how far the production is monopolized.

LECTURE II.

Digression on natural monopolies with respect to the distribution of taxation under Case II. of the preceding lecture.

Tax upon gross production reducible to an income tax.

An income tax is the fairest of all, could it be fairly assessed and collected. But, in practice, the difficulty of defining aggregate income is such that this tax is most unfair.

The ultimate general effect of taxation upon industry is nearly the same on whatever articles the tax is levied. But on special classes of persons and industries the effect may be different.

In general, the person who cannot change his employment or the articles he consumes will be most affected.

In order that the equilibrium may be least disturbed, commodities which may be substituted for each other should be equally taxed.

Is there any transfer of a tax upon a commodity beyond the producer and consumer? Answer: Not in general. A tax on tobacco, for instance, is paid entirely by the consumer of tobacco.

Taxes on Accumulation.

A tax on capital would be equivalent to one on total production if adjusted, not to the capital itself, but to the income derivable from it. But our actual taxes on capital are enormously greater than if thus adjusted.

Can a property tax be transferred? The answer is dependent on the law of accumulation of capital. Ultimately the tax is paid by the community through a discouragement of saving and a consequent raising of the rate of interest.

LECTURE III.

Hints on Systems of Taxation.

Popular delusion that a tax should be capable of being evaded because those who are least able to pay can then escape. No large class of articles consumed exclusively by the poor.

(1.) The great point in which our systems of state taxation differ from those founded on Adam Smith’s first principle is that, in the latter, ability is measured by revenue, whereas we measure it by accumulated wealth.

(2.) Abroad, municipal taxes are paid by the tenants, and not by the owners. But, owing to our short leases, it is better among us that the owner pay.

(3.) Personal property should not be taxed for municipal purposes. Is right that, in levying state taxes, general ability to pay should be considered. But our attempt to collect a uniform percentage on all kinds of property from every one is a failure.

(4.) Objects of taxation should be sought for which indicate the wealth of the owner. There is no inherent necessity that taxes should be proportioned to value.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003. Box 10, Folder “Economics, undated (5 of 5)”.

Image Source: Simon Newcomb in Leading American Men of Science, David Starr Jordan, ed. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1910. Page 363.

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Public Finance

Harvard. American Taxation, course description, enrollment, and final exam. Bullock and Huse, 1909-1910

It is not only inquisitorial; but public morality forbids that the taxpayer should be forced to do any more hard swearing than he already does.

Time to add more economics course artifacts from Harvard in the early 20th century. By 1910 the division of labor regarding the economics curriculum was well-established with Charles Jesse Bullock serving as point man in public finance, especially for taxation.

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Readings

Cf.  “Taxation” bibliography by Charles Jesse Bullock in Francis G. Peabody, et al. A Guide to Reading in Social Ethics and Allied Subjects, Lists of Books and Articles Selected and Described for the Use of General Readers. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University, 1910, pp. 54-56.

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Previously posted material
from earlier years

1906-07
1907-08
1908-09
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Course Announcement and Description
1909-10

*16 1hf. American Taxation. Half-course (first half-year). Mon., Wed., Fri., at 9. Professor Bullock.

This course is designed for graduate students and for undergraduates who are especially interested in public finance. It cannot be elected by students who have taken Economics 7 [Public Finance course exclusively offered to undergraduates], except by express consent of the instructor.

The course is devoted to American Taxation, — federal, state, and local. One or more reports calling for independent investigation will ordinarily be required. Special emphasis will be placed upon questions of American finance.

Source: Official Register of Harvard University, Vol. VI, No. 29 (23 July 1909). History and Political Science Comprising the Departments of History and Government, and Economics, 1909-10, p. 60.

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Course Enrollment
1909-10

Economics 16 1hf. Professor Bullock and Dr. [Charles Phillips] Huse. — American Taxation.

Total 31: 6 Graduates, 12 Seniors, 10 Juniors, 2 Sophomores, 1 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1909-1910, p. 45.

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ECONOMICS 16
THE THEORY AND METHODS OF TAXATION
Mid-year Examination, 1909-10

  1. On what two distinct grounds has progressive taxation been advocated? Give your opinion of each.
  2. Discuss the incidence of a tax on the gross profits of a monopoly; on a real estate mortgage; on the land and buildings in a decadent city.
  3. Describe the Massachusetts method of taxing personal property, mortgages, income.
  4. What are the defects of the general property tax as administered in Massachusetts? What remedies have been suggested to correct these?
  5. Compare the British and the Prussian income taxes, pointing out similarities and differences. What lessons can be learned from a study of these taxes?
  6. What has been the experience of the United States with income taxes?
  7. Compare the customs systems of the United States and England. Write a brief history of each since 1890, for the purpose of bringing out its merits or defects.
  8. Describe the Massachusetts method of taxing corporations. How does the rate of the Massachusetts tax compare with that of the Federal corporation tax?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 9, Bound vol. Examination Papers 1910-11; Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics,…,Music in Harvard College (June, 1910), p. 50.

Image Source: No Income Tax! by Charles Jay Taylor, a scene at the Income Tax Office with a crowd clamoring at the door where a notice states “One at a Time”; inside, a wealthy man is standing by a desk, on the floor at his feet, in his hat, are papers labeled “Personal Property Tax Sworn Off”, “Tax on Capital Sworn Off”, and “Tax on Investments”, he kisses the Bible while a government official sits at the desk with his right hand raised. Cover of Puck, v. 34, no. 881, (1894 January 24). Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

Categories
Economists Exam Questions Harvard Public Finance

Harvard. Public Finance. Course description, enrollment, final exam. Huse, 1909-1910

The recent Harvard economics Ph.D. alumnus (1907), Charles Phillips Huse, substituted for his thesis advisor, Charles Jesse Bullock, to teach the course on public finance in 1909-10 that was focussed on the theory and methods of taxation. We begin with Huse’s major life and career dates and follow that timeline with links to material from nearly a decade of courses on public finance taught at Harvard at the start of the 20th century. 

The new transcribed content of this post includes a course description, enrollment figures and the final examination questions.

P.S. Two impressions that he left on his students and included in the Boston University yearbooks of 1924 and 1927 have been appended to the timeline. Note the hint given to future cohorts of students: “…[Huse’s] unchanging method nets a return of old quiz questions yearly rejuvenated on each anniversary of their first propounding” 

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Charles Phillips Huse
Timeline

1883. Born March 3 in Worcester, MA. Attended Springfield High School. Springfield, MA.

1904. A.B. Harvard.

1905. A.M. Harvard.

1907. Ph.D. Harvard. Thesis: The Financial History of Boston from 1822 to 1859.

1908-09. Instructor in Economics, Dartmouth College.

1909-11. Instructor in Economics at Harvard.

1911-14. Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Missouri.

1914-20. Assistant Professor of Economics, Boston University.

1920-53. Professor of Economics, Boston University.

1958. Died July 13 in Belmont, MA.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Professor Huse economizes on our nerves as he never did on ice cream or time. His peculiar humor relieves a mental struggle with Gresham’s Law, and his unchanging method nets a return of old quiz questions yearly rejuvenated on each anniversary of their first propounding. This holds true in the long run. That will be all for this time.

Source: Boston University Yearbook, The Hub 1924, p. 32.

One of the greatest and most worth while experiences in Dr. Huse’s life came in 1910 when he went to Washington to aid the National Monetary Commission. His task was to read the volumes written by the Commission and, as each volume was published, to prepare press statements for the newspapers. Partly as a result of the work of this Commission, the Federal Reserve Act was passed. While he was in Washington he had the opportunity of seeing the public buildings and of taking trips into the surrounding country to places of interest.

Source: Boston University Yearbook, The Hub 1927, p. 18.

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Some earlier public finance exams
at Harvard

1901-02. Economics 7a and 7b. Financial administration; taxation [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1902-03. Economics 7b. Theory and methods of taxation [undergraduate] taught by Edward Dana Durand.

1902-03. Economics 16. Financial History of the United States taught by Prof Henry Brayton Gardner of Brown University.

1903-04. Economics 16.  Financial history of the United States taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1904-05. Economics 7a. Introduction to public finance [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1904-05. Economics 7b. Theory and methods of taxation [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1904-05. Economics 16. Financial history of the United States taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1905-06. Economics 7.  Public finance [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1905-06. Economics 16. Public finance [advanced] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1906-07. Economics 16. Public finance and taxation taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1907-08. Economics 16. Public finance and taxation taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1908-09. Economics 7. Public finance [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1908-09. Economics 16. Public finance [advanced course] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

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Readings in public finance
used at Harvard

From 1906: Selected Readings in Public Finance edited by Charles Jesse Bullock (Boston: Inn & Company).

From 1910: Short bibliography on public finance “for serious minded students” by Bullock

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Course Description
1909-10

7 2hf. Public Finance, considered with special reference to the Theory and Methods of Taxation. Half-course (second half-year). Mon., Wed., Fri., at 10. Dr. Huse and an assistant.

This course is for undergraduates exclusively, and cannot be elected by graduates. As stated in the title, much attention is given to the subject of taxation, which will occupy about one half of the time of the course and will be studied with special reference to federal, state, and local taxation in the United States. The remainder of the time will be given to such topics as governmental expenditures, governmental industries (including some study of the relation of the state to railways and other public-service industries), public debts, and financial administration.

The course may, with the consent of the instructor, be elected by students who are taking Economies 1 in the same year.

Source: Official Register of Harvard University, Vol. VI, No. 29 (23 July 1909). History and Political Science Comprising the Departments of History and Government, and Economics, 1909-10, p. 52.

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Course Enrollment
1909-10

Economics 7 2hf. Dr. Huse. — Public Finance considered with special reference to the Theory and Methods of Taxation.

Total 124: 1 Graduate, 28 Seniors, 37 Juniors, 33 Sophomores, 9 Freshmen, 16 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1909-1910, p. 44.

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ECONOMICS 7
Year-end Examination, 1909-10

  1. What has been the public land policy of the United States? Do you favor the retention of any part of the public lands? Give your reasons.
  2. Explain the two distinct grounds on which progression has been advocated, giving your opinion of each.
  3. Discuss the incidence of a tax on the net profits of a monopoly; on a good produced under competitive conditions; on real estate.
  4. Compare the British and Prussian income taxes, as to the method of assessment and the rate.
  5. What has been the experience of the United States with income taxes? Are you in favor of a federal income tax? If so, why? If not, why not?
  6. You are a resident of Boston. Your property consists of real estate worth $50,000, which is mortgaged for $10,000, and personal property amounting to $900,000, made up of the following items: shares in New Jersey corporations, $500,000; shares in Massachusetts corporations, $200,000; bonds of Massachusetts corporations, $200,000.
    1. Send the assessors a true declaration of your taxable property.
    2. Forget to send it. Tell what items are likely to be assessed and at what figures, giving your reasons in every case.
  7. —
Capital

$100,000

 Real Estate

$50,000
Debt

$100,000

 Machinery

$50,000
Merchandise

$100,000

$200,000

$200,000

You are a partner in this Massachusetts company. How is it taxed as a partnership? How would it be taxed as a Massachusetts corporation, assuming the market value of its stock to be $125,000? Would you advise incorporation?

  1. A war of long duration will begin in 1915. You are called upon now to reconstruct the federal tax system in preparation for the war and to finance it when it comes. Justify the policy you adopt.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 9, Bound vol. Examination Papers 1910-11; Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics,…,Music in Harvard College (June, 1910), pp. 43-44.

Image Source: Boston University yearbook, 1927.

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Brown Economists Exam Questions Finance Harvard Public Finance

Harvard. Enrollment and Exam for Topics in U.S. Financial History. Henry Brayton Gardner, 1902-03

In the first few years following the death of Charles Franklin Dunbar in 1900, two of his fields, public finance and taxation, were covered by visiting professors. This post provides the biographical timeline for the founder of the Brown University economics department, Henry Brayton Gardner, who covered one semester course “Selected Topics in the Financial History of the United States” in 1902-03. The course description, enrollment, and final exam questions immediately follow.

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Previous Guest Professors/Lecturers
on Public Finance

1901-02. Economics 7a and 7b. Financial administration; taxation [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock of Williams College.

1902-03. Economics 7b. Theory and methods of taxation [undergraduate] taught by Edward Dana Durand of the Federal Industrial Commission, formerly from Stanford.

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Henry Brayton Gardner
Timeline

1863. Born March 26 in Providence, RI.

1884. A.B., Brown University.

1888-90. Instructor in Political Economy, Brown University. Founder of the economics department. Sole teacher of economics at Brown until 1902.

1889. Statistics of Municipal Finance (Publications of American Statistical Association, New Series, Vol. 1, No. 6).

1890. Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University.

1896. Outlines of lectures in elementary economics, Brown University. Course I, Historical and Descriptive.

1890-98. Associate Professor of Political Economy, Brown University.

1898-1819 . Professor of Political Economy, Brown University.

1919. President of the American Economic Association

1819-1923. [First] Eastman Professor of Political Economy.

1928. Retired from Brown University.

1939. Died April 22 in Providence, RI.

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Course Description, 1902-03
Originally announced as omitted

[16 1hf. Selected Topics in the Financial History of the United States. Half-course (first half-year). Tu., Th., at 2.30.]

Omitted in 1902-03.

The first object of this course will be to investigate the process through which a system of federal finance was developed in the United States. This will involve a study of the finances of the American colonies, a consideration of the experiences of the Confederation, and a detailed examination of the financial legislation of the first three decades following the adoption of the constitution. Incidentally, it will necessitate some study of colonial monetary affairs and of the theories of taxation prevalent in the eighteenth century. The second topic for investigation will be the development of the finances of the states from 1775 to 1850, with special reference to the growth of state debts and the history of the general property tax. The final topic will be the development of federal taxation since 1820, particular attention being given to the history of the internal revenue system during the last forty years.

Course 16 is open to students who have taken Economies 1, and who take or have taken History 13.

Source: Harvard University. The University Publications, New Series, No. 55 (June 14, 1902). Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Division of History and Political Science Comprising the Departments of History and Government and Economics, 1902-03, p. 50.

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Course Enrollment, 1902-03

Economics 16. 2hf. Professor Gardner (Brown University). — The Financial History of the United States.

Total 28: 1 Gr., 11 Se., 13 Ju., 2 So., 1 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Annual Report of the President of Harvard College, 1902-03, p. 68.

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ECONOMICS 162
Year-end Examination

Answer any six questions.

  1. Contrast the achievements of Hamilton and Gallatin during their respective administrations of the treasury.
  2. During what periods has an internal revenue system been employed in the United States? Sketch the system employed during the Civil War. What portions of it were made permanent?
  3. Outline the history of the United States debt, showing periods of increase and decrease and describing briefly the refunding operations since the Civil War. On what ground was the refunding law of 1870 criticised?
  4. Describe briefly the main features of the financial management of the Civil War, and mention any points in which they seem to you open to criticism.
  5. Outline the course of events during the period 1866-1879 which finally resulted in the resumption of specie payments.
  6. Describe the course of public expenditures since the Civil War.
  7. Describe the course of events during the period 1890-1896. How far was the deficit in the revenue a factor in the troubles of the period?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Examination Papers 1873-1915. Box 6. Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, History of Religions, Philosophy, Education, Fine Arts, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Music in Harvard College, June 1903 (in the bound volume Examination Papers 1902-1903).

Image Source: Faculty portrait of Henry Brayton Gardner in the Brown University Yearbook, Liber Brunensis, Vol. XLV (1903).